Being a professional athlete is an opportunity for the athlete to make a lot of money if his or her marketing is approached right. This is where the job function of branding comes in to help the athlete get promoted and make the most of his or her career. A lot of athletes attempt to handle their own branding in an effort to save the money they would spend on a professional, but that may not be the best solution. This article will address why it may be more beneficial for the athlete to hire a dedicated brand manager specifically for his or her interests.
An athlete is only as good as his or her name is in the media, both the television and the World Wide Web, and it may take a brand manager for that. An athlete who does not have a good brand for his or her name may suffer an athlete’s identity crisis, especially if the athlete feels like his or her story is not being heard. It gets worse when the fans the athletes thought they had are not buying into their brand, but merely browsing their content. This is where a professional branding consultant and more information about athlete branding can help turn things around for those athletes.
The main thing a dedicated brand manager can do is to help the athletes with creating a vision and a strategy that works the best for them. This will be critical when the athlete wants to pursue interests outside of the sport, and get into other business ventures. The dedicated brand manager will also help the athletes with sponsorship and endorsements, an area that most athletes are careful to pay attention to. The brand manager will help his or her client to partner with the right agencies and create the ideal relationships beneficial to the athlete's particular brand.
In this age of social media, the right dedicated brand manager will be able to promote his or her client on the various social media and help to take advantage of digital marketing. Having the right information on the social network may be key to really push the athlete forward. Finally, a good brand manager can offer the athlete proper guidance, support, and the additional benefit of teamwork. The brand manager can take the athlete beyond his or her athletic career and into the world of politics, business, or other endeavors, offering the athlete the value of attention economics.
The world of sports has a lot to offer professional athletes and those who are dedicated to providing support services for those athletes. The best-case scenario is when the two can merge and create a successful package and brand to promote both the athlete and the brand manager simultaneously. More athletes should think seriously about finding the right dedicated brand manager that can focus specifically on their careers, and build their particular personas. Having the right dedicated brand manager ends up being a win-win situation for all parties involved and keeps the athlete a promotable and marketable product for many years to come.
